Chapter Text
“ Akko sit still. ” Her mother scolded. But Akko couldn’t. The plane was landing in England, she was going to join a Witch Family for the summer, and maybe longer if things went well. She was going to start Witch Training so that she could go to the same school as Shiny Chariot once she was old enough. “Akko!” Her mother scolded yet again, resting a hand on Akko’s shoulder to try and get her to sit still. It worked enough, but Akko still felt like she was vibrating in her seat.
The process of getting off the plane and collecting their things felt like it took forever. Akko clung to her Mother’s hand, staring with wide eyes at the signs in the language she didn’t understand properly yet.
“ Looks like they sent someone to collect us. ” Akko’s Mother motioned to a man with a sign. Akko recognised the letters, but it took a moment to truly get what they said. ‘Kagari’. Their last name, written in English lettering.
“ We should speak English. ” Akko pointed out, letting her Mother drag her over. Her English wasn’t the best, but they were in England and she’d be staying with English Witches.
“ You’re right. ” Her Mother agreed, approaching the man holding the sign with their name. “Hello.” She greeted, putting on her most charming face. She may have agreed to Akko spending a summer with a witch family, but the thought of leaving her eight year old in a strange country wasn’t one that sat wholly well with her.
“Hello there. You must be Mrs. Kagari. Which makes you Atsuko, right?” The man turned his attention down to Akko. She nodded, pulling out her brightest grin.
“Call me Akko.” That was one phrase Akko had been sure to master before she arrived. She wanted to be certain that any friends she made called her by the name she preferred.
“Of course, Miss Akko. Now, if you’ll both follow me, I’ll take you to the car. Madam Cavendish is expecting you both.” The man motioned them to follow him, still smiling. “My name is Jacob, since I forgot to introduce myself. It’s lovely to meet you both.” He bowed a little, before making a sweeping gesture for them to go ahead. Akko bit back a giggle. It was strange for her to be hearing English spoken. She had Shiny Chariot’s cards, and had begun to check books out of the library in order to study English, but she hadn’t found anyone to practice with just yet, so outside of her teaching tapes, she wasn’t used to hearing it spoken.
“Thank you, Jacob.” Akko knew her Mothers English wasn’t the best either, but she had at least had a proper education in it.
Jacob took their luggage and loaded it into the trunk of the car while Akko and her mother got themselves settled in the back seat.
“ What do you think the Witch family are gonna be like? ” Akko asked, bouncing a little as she secured her seatbelt.
“ Bernadette, the head of the family, seems very nice. And I’ve already told you they have a daughter who’s your age, that’s part of why they agreed to take you in. But you don’t have to stay if you don’t like it, Akko. ” She’d impressed this on her daughter as many times as possible. She was allowing this to happen because she loved Akko and knew that her daughter would follow her dream no matter what, but she was still worried about this.
“ I know. But I will probably want to! If I want to learn to be a Witch like Shiny Chariot, I need to learn how to use magic! Then I go can to Luna Nova, just like she did! ” Akko pointed out, beaming brightly. Her mother sighed, and ruffled her hair.
“ Yes, so you keep saying. ” The car rumbled and started and Akko moved as much as her seatbelt would allow, to stare out of the window, watching the countryside roll by in amazement.
The journey to the Cavendish summer home took two hours. After half an hour, Akko had fallen asleep, her face still pressed eagerly against the window. Her mother was beginning to droop herself as Jacob pulled the car to a halt. The brake jolted her back to full consciousness.
“We’ve arrived, Mrs Kagari.” Jacob called back, turning off the engine. “I’ll bring your Luggage around.” He assured her, before exiting the car. Mrs Kagari smiled, before shaking Akko lightly.
“ Wake up, Akko. We’re here. ” It took a moment before Akko jerked awake. She seemed to realise where they were without her Mother telling her again and she fought with her seatbelt to get it off.
The door opened faster than Akko expected, causing her to nearly fall flat on her face. Stood waiting for them was Lady Bernadette, and a young girl, likely her daughter, stood behind her. The girl was laughing behind her hand as Akko straightened herself, rubbing the back of her neck awkwardly.
“Ah, hello.” Akko greeted, bowing quickly and trying to act like she hadn’t just embarrassed herself.
“Hello, Atsuko, it’s lovely to have you here. My name is Bernadette, this is my daughter, Diana. We’re so happy to have you stay with us.” Bernadette greeted. Akko caught the names, but missed most of the words. She twisted, locating her mother standing behind her.
“ What did she say? ” Akko asked. Part of her was sure she actually knew more than she thought, but she wanted to be certain.
“ She welcomed you, introduced herself as Bernadette and her daughter, Diana. Do you want me to translate for you? ”
“ No, I got it! ” Akko assured her Mother, turning back to the Cavendish’s with a beaming grin. “Call me Akko.” She started with. “It is, umm…” Akko frowned, her brain not providing her the correct word for the situation. “ Nice? ” She asked her Mother quickly.
“Nice.”
“Nice! It is nice to be here.” Akko was still beaming brightly, not letting her struggle with English hold her back.
“Your English is excellent!” Bernadette exclaimed. Akko was almost certain that she was being complimented, so just continued to smile.
“Thank you.” Akko leant until she managed to make eye contact with Diana. “Hello. Thank you for having me.”
“Hello.” Diana greeted, waving a little, but not stepping out from behind her Mother. Akko wondered whether she was shy or if she didn’t want to know her.
“I think we should head inside. I have a dinner prepared for you, I understand you’ll be staying for a few days as well, Mrs Kagari?” Akko’s mother nodded, resting her hand on Akko’s shoulder.
“Just to make sure that Akko is happy being here.”
“Of course. This is a long way from home for both of you. Come inside, I promise we’ll make you both comfortable for as long as you’re here.” Bernadette encouraged. “Please, do come inside. Anna will take your bags to your rooms.” Bernadette motioned the strict looking woman forward. Akko shuffled away from her bag, trying to catch Diana's eye again. Diana, for her part, kept her eyes firmly on the ground, refusing to look up at the guests.
Mrs Kagari encouraged Akko to follow Bernadette, the two gazing in wonder at the sheer size of the Cavendish summer home.
Throughout dinner, Akko kept trying to catch Diana's eye. She managed to shoot the other girl a few smiles, but each time Diana's eyes would quickly drop back to the food.
“Diana, why don't you show Akko to her room, while Mrs Kagari and I have a talk?” Akko lit up, recognising enough of the words to know what was going on.
“Yes Mum.” Diana pushed her chair away from the table, finally making eye contact with Akko, clearly waiting for the other girl to follow her. Akko shot to her feet, stumbling over the chair leg in an attempt to get to Diana's side faster.
There was silence as Diana led Akko through the halls of their summer home. Part of her wanted to reach out, befriend the strange girl who'd invaded her home, but the rest of her remembered the way her cousins had mocked her for her friendly nature. So she chose silence. It was safer that way. She didn’t need friends anyway.
Akko followed behind Diana, staring at the back of the other girls head. She wanted to speak out, to try and make friends. But she didn’t know enough English to be able to hold a proper conversation without her mothers help, and Diana didn’t seem to want to know her anyway.
“This is your room.” Diana spoke her first words to Akko as they pulled to a stop outside of a large wooden door. Akko frowned. She’d figured out what Diana was saying, it was her tone that confused Akko. Why was she being so mean?
“Thank you. Why don’t you like me? ” She asked, unable to help herself, despite knowing that Diana wouldn’t understand her.
“You’re welcome. Is there anything else you need?” Akko frowned, her brain ticking over the words until the translation finally made itself clear in her head. Or clear enough, she hoped.
“No, thank you.”
“Goodnight then.” Diana nodded awkwardly at Akko, before turning on her heel and walking away down the hallway. Akko watched her, frowning slightly, before slipping into her room for the summer.
It was huge ! Akko couldn’t believe it was just for her. She moved through the room, examining every space. The bed was a double, big enough for her mother and father, but it was just for her. And there was a desk. A plan forming in Akko’s mind, she grabbed her backpack and hurried to the desk. Pulling out her notepad and pencil, Akko turned the pad on it’s side and began to write in her best English handwriting. After a moment, Akko realised she needed more than that and quickly pulled out her Japanese to English dictionary and phrase book. With those in place, she focused back on her note.
It wasn’t until Akko was out in the hallway that she realised the flaw in her plan. She didn’t know which room belonged to Diana. She couldn’t go knocking on every door, she didn’t know who might be sleeping in there! Akko was about to see if she could find her way back to the dining room to ask Bernadette when the sharp faced woman rounded the corner. She had been called Anna.
“ Excuse me! ” Akko spoke, before remembering that she had to speak English to be understood. “Ah, sorry.” She bit her lip, hoping she had enough words to get what she needed. “Diana’s Room?” Akko asked, motioning to the doors. Anna frowned further.
“What do you want with mi’lady?” Anna shot back. Akko bit her lip, shrinking smaller. She had a feeling she was being reprimanded, although she knew it was a question that Anna was asking. Akko held out the note she’d written, keeping it folded so that Anna couldn’t see the contents.
“Diana.” Akko had to hope that it was enough of an explanation. If she could have been understood properly, Akko would have explained that she’d written Diana a note with the hope of being her friend and to apologise if she’d upset her. But Akko didn’t want anyone else to read it. Anna seemed to regard Akko for another moment, before sighing and motioning with her hand.
“Follow me.” Anna began to walk, and Akko scurried after her, keeping the note pressed to her chest. They turned a few corners, before Anna came to a stop outside of a door, almost identical to every other door in the house. “This is Diana’s room.” Anna explained, before knocking.
“Mi’lady? Do you have a moment?”
“Come in, Anna.” Akko recognised Diana’s voice and lit up. She was worried that Anna might be taking her to Bernadette or her own mother to be scolded. Anna opened the door, and Akko stepped inside, nerves blossoming in her chest.
“Diana… This is for you. ” Akko held the letter out, hoping she’d spelt Diana’s name correctly on the fold, indicating who it was for. Diana seemed surprised to see her, but stood from her bed and accepted the letter.
“Thank you.” Diana nodded, doing her best to smile at Akko. It was strange, having someone who wasn’t family in her bedroom. She watched Akko’s eyes scan the room and felt fear curl into her gut. That fear propelled her to speech. “Anna, please escort her back to her room.”
“Of course, mi’lady. Miss Kagari, Akko, follow me.” Akko recognised her name, and the words that Anna had spoken before. She glanced back at Diana, before sighing and nodding, moving back towards the door.
“Goodnight, Diana.” Akko was certain she’d gotten the right time of day.
“Goodnight, Akko.” Diana nodded and Akko had to fight back the need to bounce her way out of the room. Not only had she gotten it right, she’d gotten a reply! And she’d managed to deliver her letter, for she was far better at written English than she was at spoken.
Diana sat back on her bed, staring down at the letter. Deana. The misspelling of her name actually made her smile a little. It was… charming, in a way. Unfolding the paper, Diana began to read.
Deana.
I am sorry you are not happy I am here. I saw Shiny Chariot show two years past and have wanted to be a Witch since. I love Shiny Chariot and want to be like her. I have to go to Luna Nova to be like Shiny Chariot. Mother thinks I should be with a Witch Family to learn more before I go to Luna Nova. If you don’t want me here, I can ask to go home.
I want to be your friend, Deana. You seem very nice and I would like to have a friend who is a Witch. You don’t have to be friend with me, but I want you to be.
I am sorry for my bad writing, but I can use my books to write. I would like to speak English better before I go home.
Akko
Diana found herself smiling as she read the note. It was nice to know that someone else admired Shiny Chariot as much as she did. Diana fetched her own pad of paper and wrote a quick reply.
She was careful as she snuck through the halls to Akko’s room, knocking lightly and sliding the note beneath the door. Before Akko could answer, Diana had hurried away, back towards her own bedroom, before she was caught. It was late, and if Anna found her out of bed, there was a good chance she’d be in trouble.
Akko had been getting into bed when the knock on the door had come. She hurried towards the door, bouncing a little to keep her bare feet off the cold ground as much as possible. She found the note and quickly picked it up before swinging open the heavy door. There was no-one there. And as she looked down the hall, in both directions, Akko couldn’t see anyone.
With a frown, Akko closed the door and hurried back into bed, letting out little uncomfortable noises every time her feet hit the ground. With her dictionary handy, Akko opened the note, recognising her own name on the front.
Akko,
I’m not angry or sad that you’re here. I don’t have many friends, and I wasn’t sure if you wanted to be friends or not.
I love Shiny Chariot too! I saw her show two years ago in your country, maybe we were at the same one?
I don’t want you to go home, I’d like to be your friend and teach you about Magic and Witch History. But first I should help you with your English. We can’t talk through notes all summer!
Tomorrow, after breakfast, I’ll try and help you learn some more. Don’t try and send me another Note now, if Anna catches either of us out of our rooms, we’ll be in trouble!
See you in the morning,
Diana (That’s how you actually spell my name!)
Akko couldn’t help the smile that took over her face as she translated the letter and realised that she was welcome here after all. Now she simply couldn’t wait for Breakfast.